Iberostar Tucan in playa del carmen,Mexico all inclusive resort, all inclusive means you pay upfront and pay nothing there. All food, drinks, entertainment, towels, tips are paid for. Outside day excursions are extra. Chichen Itza was included in our trip and so was 2 hours of classes each day given by Dr. Matt Townsend. (10 hours in all) We felt the money was way worth it.
Here is matt and the owner of Fun for less tours Jim Tinsdale. He came for vacation with his wife, some children & grandchildren. Matt brought his LOVELY wife. I am doing a separate post on Matt and his relationship/communications workshop next. Matt does this one time a year, usually first weekend in June. You want to get signed up. You can make payments. I missed Farm chicks in Spokane so this was a one time only for us with matt.
My camera didn't like the high humidity of 90's so I got very few photo's. The grounds are naturalistic like a well tailored jungle. Rustic Mexico colors add the splash of fun. Tropical landscapes and green as green can get. Water filled ponds with turtles and fish meandered around all the eating areas. It was the beginning of rainy season June. Luckily our last day was the only rain out. If you go Dec thru april you'll find perfect temps, short rain episodes, tolerable humidity probably more people with higher rates.(spring break would not be the time to go if you like less people.)
I never felt crowded with the guests which are International. Cancun is an International airport and about an hour away. Our bus to airports was also included.
Fun to watch families from all over the world and listen to them. It's right across the ocean from Cozamel.
These rocky paths winded through the jungle with monkeys (saw 10 little ones), birds, about a dozen peacocks wander the grounds, all making their noises. This path took you down to the Ocean and the big pools. They would power wash them each day. (leaves)
monkeys basically were small and you could see them swinging in the tops of the trees.
Elegant Flamingo's
This is also a place to get married...we saw several wedding parties dining. also saw a wedding dress that had got left at the airport in Houston which a bride left on plane. she was in cancun! poor thing!
Strange little creatures...look like a big rat/squirrel, harmless and ran freely.
This place is family oriented, places special for them in naturalistic settings. A lot of families enjoying themselves from babes to teens.
The sand here is white isnt that the best anyway? The ocean so blue and aqua blue.
Big luxurious pools, so beautiful to stroll around in the evenings. They close them down at 7:00 for cleaning so it's romantic to walk in this setting. Restaurants we could go to surround this area. Including a steak house. Japanese house. Mexican food and Italian. So every meal was not buffet.
Although the buffets were Seafood galore, fresh fruits & real fruit drinks made right there.
This is the only ocean photo I have. It was ideal to get a chair in the shade. As the sun is hot even at 9:00 a.m. and only gets hotter. Close by are your slushy drink stations. I'm really liking these all inclusives...food much better than cruise food.
This was the modern chic lunch buffet area...breakfast and dinner were behind this place. Cloth tablecloths and cloth napkins with waiters. Everything at this resort was always the cleanest of clean.The staff was excellent. Only one clock in the whole place...loved it!
Pathways to restaurants and walking around, all naturalistic, thatched roofs,open air restaurants, waterfalls off to the sides with swans, flamingo's, birds and monkeys.
Mr. ate a lot of food...ummm 12 lbs weight gain in 8 days he couldn't help himself?
He's losing it fast since being home.
Just a sampling of his dessert plates at each meal.
Each night was entertainment...it was kind of dumb and loud, we didn't care for them.
Some of the younger couples in the group ventured out beyond our area for other entertainment.
Day trip to Ek Balam and Chichen Itza ...this was a 12 hour day. We had a guide which took us through the Book of Mormon version. The same trip without matt, but with jack marshall is called the book of Mormon land cruise. On the bus trip Matt Townsend told us stories about how men and women are different...we laughed a lot! He also guided me about retirement which is a hard stage of life, couples that work together jobs is the hardest and the 5 things retired people should do.
Ek Balam...was discovered about 19 years ago...a developer was clearing away this property to build a water park and came upon these Mayan ruins. It's becoming as popular. This can be climbed on and there are a lot of historical markers of learning about the people and their lifestyle here.
This is Chichen Itza...a big area where a lot of people visit, sometimes a thousand at a time. Vendors surround the walkways. They are not pushy like they were in south America.
Heavy solid pillars, not sure the reasons.
The stadium games the winning team would sacrifice their captains, think they said it was an honor.
stadium,
a very old tree thousands of years old behind the ruins.
Behind the ruins (coming in the back door sorta speaking) is a neat motel and authentic Mexican restaurant, has a lot of charm, would be a neat place to spend a night. We had Spanish lunch here.
looking out the door of this motel...this ruins had a meaning, that's escaped me.
In mexico there are beautiful flowering trees, in vibrant orange reds. The drive to these ruins have improved over the years. we hear it use to be quite bumpy and dirt.
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